Saudi Arabia's plans for nuclear follow the construction of the UAE's Barakah nuclear power plant. due to come online next year. Arun Girija / Enec / AFP
Paul R. Pillar, National Interest: Why Saudi Arabia Will Acquire Nuclear Weapons
If the Trump administration continues to turn its nuclear negotiations into a boondoggle, then nothing will prevent Riyadh from building bombs.
The Trump administration’s handling of nuclear negotiations with Saudi Arabia promises to lay bare some realities about security issues and nuclear programs in that part of the world that the administration has refused to acknowledge. A front-page article by David Sanger and William Broad in the New York Times reviews some of the still-unresolved questions. The Saudi regime insists on producing its own nuclear fuel, which would be different from terms the United States has negotiated with some other states, including the United Arab Emirates, that have sought U.S. assistance in developing their nuclear programs. The Saudis have balked at comprehensive international inspections to detect any work on nuclear weapons. And Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) has explicitly threatened to develop nuclear weapons, ostensibly in response to any similar development by Iran.
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WNU Editor: Saudi Arabia has the monies and resources plus a number of people who can learn (if not already) how to develop and build nuclear weapons. The question is .... does the Saudi King and the Crown Prince believe it is in their interest to acquire them even if it means international sanctions and blow-back from the international community that will last for years (like what happened for Pakistan and India when they developed their nuclear arsenal). My gut tells me .... guided by intelligence and experience .... that there is already a plan to develop such a weapons program. The question that remains unanswered is when to initiate it.
